Lifting of airspace curb to aid small aviation firms

The Federal Aviation Administration yesterday lifted restrictions "for all airplanes flying within the enhanced Class B airspace," which Honolulu has been since Sept. 11, according to FAA Pacific Area Representative Tweet Coleman.

Details are included in a so-called NOTAM, or Notice To Air Men, released yesterday in Washington, D.C.

This bodes well for small aviation companies which have only been allowed to engage in training flights for the past 14 weeks, she said.

American Air recalling 800 reservations clerks

FORT WORTH, Texas >> American Airlines said yesterday it has begun recalling about 800 laid-off reservations clerks to handle an increase in inquiries to its call centers. The Fort Worth-based carrier said, however, that it doesn't expect to soon recall pilots, flight attendants or other workers who were laid off after Sept. 11.

American said the recalls of reservations clerks began Monday. It credited recent fare sales for prompting more calls to its reservations centers. The carrier also said that reservations calls are taking longer because a larger percentage now come from vacationers instead of business travelers.

Delta pilots contemplate voluntary time-off plan

ATLANTA >> With their employer still bleeding cash, pilot union leaders at Delta Air Lines voted yesterday to approve a company proposal that would give them a month off but trim that month's paycheck by about 26 percent.

Delta, the nation's third-largest airline, says it is losing about $8 million per day as the effects of the terrorist attacks continue to depress revenues. The proposal would allow Delta to solicit volunteers from among overstaffed pilot groups. They would be paid for 55 flight hours per month instead of their minimum 70 hours.

The company developed the idea as a way to cut costs and ease overstaffing. Delta expects to save $1 million to $2 million each month if all the pilots it approaches were to take the month off.

Tyson execs charged with smuggling immigrants

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. >> Six executives and managers of Tyson Foods Inc. were accused yesterday of smuggling illegal Mexican immigrants into the country to work at the processing plants of the world's largest poultry company.

The federal indictment said one of the managers told an undercover agent the company would pay $200 for each illegal alien delivered.

The indictment, unsealed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga, also said the managers helped the immigrants obtain false documents to work in the United States, hoping the cheap labor would help Tyson cut costs and meet production goals.

The conspiracy allegedly reached 15 plants in nine states. Three of those charged were affiliated with Tyson's plant in Shelbyville.

Morgan Stanley reports earnings drop 28%

NEW YORK >> Fourth-quarter profits for brokerage powerhouse Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. fell 28 percent because of the weak investment banking and stock sales climate, the company said yesterday. But the outcome was better than analysts expected.

For the three months ending Nov. 30, Morgan Stanley reported net income of $870 million, or 78 cents per share, down from $1.2 billion, or $1.06 per share, a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call had expected earnings of 66 cents a share.

Revenue fell 17 percent to $4.6 billion for the quarter from $5.4 billion a year ago.

Like other brokerages, Morgan Stanley was hurt by a steep loss in fees from its lucrative business arranging mergers and acquisition deals and underwriting new stock issues.

FleetBoston to lay off 700, write down $650 million

BOSTON >> Banking giant FleetBoston Financial Corp. said yesterday it would lay off 700 workers and take hundreds of millions of dollars in write-downs for the job cuts, investments gone bad and exposure to the Argentine financial crisis.

The Boston-based company characterized the charges, which will total $650 million after taxes in the fourth quarter, as an effort to clean up its balance sheet ahead of an expected economic recovery in the second half of next year.

FleetBoston shares closed at $38.64, up 89 cents or about 2.4 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company called the job cuts necessary to keep expenses in line with revenues, "particularly in a weak capital markets environment."

FedEx says earnings rose 26 percent in quarter

MEMPHIS, Tenn. >> Second-quarter earnings at FedEx Corp. rose 26 percent, though shares in the package delivery company slipped yesterday after it said third-quarter results will fall at the low end of Wall Street's expectations.

FedEx earned $245 million, or 81 cents per share, for the quarter ended Nov. 1, up from $194 million, or 67 cents per share, a year earlier, helped by growth in its home delivery business and a contract with the U.S. postal service.

A $116 million reimbursement the federal government gave the Memphis company, which operates the world's largest cargo airline, for grounding its aircraft after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks also helped boost results.

The latest results were well above the consensus forecast of 64 cents a share.